I’ll Cook!
Sophie Godwin
Published by Murdoch, £20, www.murdochbooks.co.uk
Photo Credit: © Caitlin Isola 2026
Give This Summery Risotto a Try
Sophie Godwin takes us through how to make the ultimate summer risotto in her new book, I'll Cook
'I absolutely adore risotto; it's food for the soul' she says. 'This risotto is the colour of sunshine and tastes like summer - what's not to love? It will make you feel cheffy, badass and happy.'
Serves
3–4 (or 2, if saving some of the cooked risotto to make arancini)
Takes
1 hour 15 minutes
Can be
V / GF
Ingredients
- 3 yellow peppers
- 250g yellow cherry vine tomatoes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 garlic bulb
- about 30g parsley
- 1 red chilli
- 1 lemon
- 1 brown onion or 2 banana shallots
- generous pinch of saffron threads (or use a small pinch of smoked paprika)
- 1.2 litres just-boiled vegetable or chicken stock
- 300g risotto rice
- 250ml white wine
- 50g pecorino or parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), plus extra to serve
- 50g salted butter
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat your oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7.
Cut the peppers into chunks, discarding the seedy cores, and take the tomatoes off the vine. Put both in a roasting tray, drizzle with one tablespoon of the olive oil and season.
Remove one garlic clove from the bulb for the gremolata and set aside. Cut the top off the remaining garlic bulb, drizzle with olive oil, season and wrap in foil. Add to the tray and roast for 25–30 minutes until the peppers are tender and the tomatoes are bursting. Set aside to cool slightly, then transfer into a blender, squeezing the garlic cloves out of their skins. Blitz to a smooth sauce. Season.
Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley and chilli and add to a bowl. Finely grate in the reserved garlic clove. Grate in the lemon zest (save the juice) and season. Set aside.
Finely chop the onion or shallots. Scrape into a large, deep frying pan with the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cook over a medium heat, stirring regularly, for 8–10 minutes until soft. Meanwhile, add the saffron or paprika to the hot stock.
Tip the rice into the pan, stir and toast for a minute or so, then pour in the white wine. Once absorbed, add a ladleful of stock. Cook, stirring regularly, adding more stock when needed, until the rice is tender with a slight bite. This will take about 20–25 minutes.
Finely grate the cheese. Once the rice is tender, stir in the sauce, cheese and butter, squeezing in lemon juice to taste. Spoon into bowls, top with more cheese and gremolata, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Get Ahead
The peppers, tomatoes and garlic can be roasted ahead (day-before vibes). Blitz the sauce and chill.
